An alternative source of very high quality mics for the whole world.

[danreetz]

I recently purchased a set of binaural clippy mics from Paul Istric. He uses the handle "micro_sound" on eBay. I couldn't be happier with these microphones.

First, you should know, I'm currently located in Russia. I'd much rather have built my own mics, but I can't just order capsules from DigiKey like I did when I lived in North Dakota. Second, I really wanted to buy Greenmachine's mics, but they were at the top of my price range, and he wasn't responding in-thread to questions. So I decided to look elsewhere.

On eBay there are a number of people who make mics, some good, some bad, some ugly. I saw the mics Paul had to offer and emailed him with a few questions. I got a *very* quick reponse, and Paul was happy to talk about details - what capsules (Panasonic WM-64's), international shipping ($7.85), and the works. A very good seller.

As far as the microphones go, the sound is really fantastic. I haven't used them to record any live music yet, as I haven't built a battery box. But field recordings with these mics has been wonderful. They have decent dynamic range, low self-noise, and are quite small. I have only one sample online, if you'd like to listen, it's a 50mb MP3 of a walk to a grocery store here in Russia. Keep in mind, it's long and unedited, and there is some clipping at extremely loud points. It's binaural, so you'd best listen to it on headphones. Listen here.

Construction wise, the quality is high. The mics aren't the typical heat-shrink and hot-glue construction, rather, they have a plastic (ABS?) tube/shaft surrounding the capsule which tapers where the wire exits. The capsules are very securely placed. On this tube there is a metal clip. My one problem with these mics is that the clips are rather large, and I think, could be a little smaller. But they are extremely strong clips, and hold well to glasses, epaulets, and mini tripods (as you can see in the photos). The cord that connects the mics is long and thick, a high quality cord. It's about four feet long, quite a generous length of cord. I'm considering buying another set of mics from Paul and remanufacturing them with a small, thin cord that's short, too... as I'd like to have a set that's slightly more stealthy.

I highly recommend these microphones. I think for 75% of the "Which binaural mic should I use for field recording??" questions we get here, the answer is these mics. And, if for some bizarre reason you don't like them, you haven't spent much money. $22.99+$7.85 shipping. Cheaper if you're in the USA. That's a great deal.

You can contact Paul through eBay, I don't think he'd want me to post his email address here, but if you PM me I'll be happy to give it to you. His eBay store is here:

http://stores.ebay.com/MICROSOUND-INC

I don't have any connection with Microsound or Paul, just a satisfied customer, blah blah blah. I thought the MDCF community would like to know about these mics. I can answer questions if you have any, though I won't be online much in the next few days.

[A440]

They look good except for the big shiny clips, which make them less than stealthy. Maybe the clips could be painted black.

Nice find, danreetz.

[danreetz]

You know, the clips could be painted black... but to tell the truth, I just popped them off two days ago. They're held on by a very small rivet and they're easily removed. Now I just rubber-band 'em to my glasses.

[A440]

Good to know they're removable. If you have a US correspondent to send them to you, these might work around that tapered end.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller...oughType=search

Edited April 16, 2006 by A440

[danreetz]

Great tip- those clips look like the perfect solution.

[nadnerb]

Hey, I bought the same mics in February 2005. I got a lot of use out of them with my RH10 and they do have quite good sound for the price. They were a little bassy for my liking even with my bass-roll off cranked as high as it can go. The left channel started to go bad in February this year and has stopped working all together. Definately a great mic for the price and a very good seller, but I think I'm going to upgrade to a high end sound professionals mic now that I've got the funds.

[looonie]

may i know how do these mics compare to greenmachine's? any sound samples from this one? i've narrowed my search down to these 2 mics, support the homebrew

[SocDoc]

i can't offer anything as far as comparisons go but i've bought two mics from the same ebay seller and i've had a good experience as well. the mics he offers have a lot of pull for the price and are fairly well made.